KENNESAW STATE (11-4) AT USC UPSTATE (8-7)
GAME 16 | JANUARY 10 | 4:30 P.M. ET
SPARTANBURG, S.C. | HODGE CENTER (818)
 
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | ESPN3 | TWITTER
 
THE GAME:
The Kennesaw State women's basketball team is set to open Atlantic Sun Conference play on the road as the Owls travel to Spartanburg, S.C., to do battle with USC Upstate on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET in the Hodge Center.
 
THE COVERAGE:
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com at the start of Saturday's game.
ESPN3: ESPN3 will have the live broadcast of Saturday's game.
TWITTER: Follow the Kennesaw State women's basketball team on Twitter @KSUOwlsWBB to receive updates throughout the game.
 
THE OPPONENT:
USC Upstate
The Spartans come into Saturday's Atlantic Sun Conference opener with an 8-7 overall record in the nonconference and have dropped two of their last three contests, including a 74-59 setback at Furman on Wednesday night. Upstate is led by a pair of double-figure scorers in Sharmayne Edwards and Brittany Starling, who are averaging 12.8 and 12.7 points, respectively. Starling also paces the Spartans on the glass with 9.5 boards per game, while Brittany Clency leads the team with 46 assists on the season. Upstate is averaging 15.8 turnovers per game, but is forcing 19.8 giveaways, including averaging 9.1 steals per contest, for a +4.0 turnover margin. The Spartans also own a perfect 7-0 mark at home in the Hodge Center in 2014-15.
 
THE SERIES:
This will be the 31st meeting between the Owls and the Spartans, with the Owls leading the all-time series, 19-11, but dropped both meetings against Upstate a season ago. In the teams' last outing, the Spartans earned a 90-78 win over KSU on Feb. 22, 2014 in Kennesaw, Ga., as a 28-point effort from senior Kristina Wells was not enough to slow the Spartans. Wells also added eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in the setback, while sophomore Aareon Smith contributed 13 points and former Owl Gratia Brooks had 11 points.
 
All-Time Record: KSU leads, 19-11
Last Meeting: Upstate won, 90-78, on Feb. 22, 2014 in Kennesaw, Ga.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Kennesaw State women's basketball team dropped its first home game of the season as the Owls second half comeback fell short to rival Mercer, 54-44, on Tuesday night (Jan. 6) at the KSU Convocation Center. Junior Jasmine McAllister was one rebound off of a double-double to lead the Owls with 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting and nine rebounds, while redshirt-freshman Kelly Dulkoski poured in a career-high 11 points, including going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
 
NEXT UP:
The Owls return to the KSU Convocation Center for their Atlantic Sun Conference home opener on Wednesday, Jan. 14 to take on Northern Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET in an ESPN3-broadcasted contest.
 
NEWS AND NOTES:
Owls in A-Sun Play
The Owls are entering their 10th season of Atlantic Sun Conference play and own an overall record of 63-105 in nine seasons after coming off of a 4-14 campaign and a seventh place finish in last season's standings.
 
A-Sun Openers
KSU is 3-6 in Atlantic Sun Conference openers in its nine-year history and is looking for its first league-opener win since the 2008-09 season when the Owls registered a 80-63 victory over USC Upstate on Dec. 13, 2008 in Kennesaw.
 
Owls on the Road
KSU owns a 5-3 record away from the friendly confines of the KSU Convocation Center, with all eight contests coming in true road games. The Owls lead the conference with the most road wins of any A-Sun team to this point in the season.
 
A-Sun Weekly Honors
The Owls have collected six weekly honors from the A-Sun Conference this season, with junior Jasmine McAllister earning Newcomer of the Week three times this season and junior Karly Frye earning the accolade once. Senior Kristina Wells and sophomore Deandrea Sawyers have also earned Player of the Week honors this season.
 
Owls in A-Sun Rankings
The Owls are the only team in the league that has two players in the top five in scoring (Sawyers, McAllister), rebounding (McAllister, Wells), field goal percentage (McAllister, redshirt-senior Breonna Mosely) and assists (Frye, Wells).
 
McAllister Leading the Way
McAllister leads the conference in rebounding and ranks fourth in scoring with 14.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, while also ranking third in the A-Sun with a 50 percent clip from the field.
 
Top A-Sun Scorers
Along with McAllister, the Owls have three players in the top-16 in scoring in the A-Sun. Leading the way is Sawyers, who ranks third in the conference with 14.7 points per game, followed by McAllister and Wells (16th, 11.6 ppg).
 
Top A-Sun Rebounders
The trio, along with Mosely, also ranks in the top-20 in the conference in rebounding with McAllister leading the way, followed by Wells (fifth, 8.1 rpg), Mosely (12th, 5.4) and Sawyers (t-20th, 4.5 rpg). 
 
McAllister on the Boards
McAllister's league-leading 11.3 boards ranks 12th in the NCAA and she is also leading the A-Sun and ranks 13th in the nation with 4.6 offensive boards per game. On the season, she has pulled down 170 rebounds, with 69 of those coming on the offensive end of the court.
 
Assists
Wells leads the Owls and ranks fourth in the A-Sun with 3.6 assists per game with 54 helpers on the season, while Frye is right behind the senior with 3.5 assists per contest and has dished out 53 helpers this season.
 
Wells' Assist-to-Turnover Ratio
Wells ranks second in the conference and 10th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, owning a 3.0 ratio with 54 assists and just 18 turnovers on the season.
 
Dishing out the Rock the Last Four Contests
Wells has totaled 22 assists in the last four contests to average 5.5 helpers per game in that span. For the season, she has eight contests in which she has posted four or more assists, and four games in which she has recorded six or more assists. 
 
Kristina's Career
Wells has played in over 100 games for the Owls during her career and is the active career points leader in the A-Sun after going over the 1,200-point mark earlier this season. For her four-year career, the Douglasville, Ga., native has amassed 1,203 points, 717 rebounds and 272 assists in 102 games.
 
Sawyers Beyond the Arc
Sawyers has connected on the third most three pointers in the conference with 31 treys on the season and is averaging 2.1 three-pointers per game to rank fourth in the A-Sun in that category.
 
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State women's basketball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsWBB or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.